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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26141971">lover</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/hwasans/pseuds/hwasans'>hwasans</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>ATEEZ (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Attempt at Humor, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Kim Hongjoong is Oblivious, M/M, Mentioned Other ATEEZ members, Park Seonghwa is Whipped, Pining, but it's in chapters, hwa? flirt? more like almost accidentally blurt out i love you, i think</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:49:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,313</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26141971</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/hwasans/pseuds/hwasans</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Seonghwa has been flirting with Hongjoong for years. Hongjoong thinks it's just a best friend thing.<br/>It, and Seonghwa cannot stress this enough, is not.</p><p>Alternatively,<br/>Five times Seonghwa awkwardly tries to flirt with his oblivious best friend throughout the years and the one time said best friend finally notices.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>83</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. MMXIV</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hello guess who's back<br/>yes it's me, with a seongjoong fic because i can't find the motivation to continue rewriting my sanhwa fic. anyway, i kinda enjoyed writing this so i hope you'll enjoy reading it too!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Seonghwa can't remember when he started liking Hongjoong. He just... did. Isn't that always how it's like when you're best friends? One day, you're five-year-old platonic best friends playing on the swings together and the next thing you know, you're fifteen and thinking about your "platonic" best friend in ways that are anything <em>but </em>platonic.</p><p>He's not speaking for everyone who's been in love with a long time friend but that sure as hell was how it went for Seonghwa. No need to go into details—the experience isn't something he's necessarily proud of.</p><p>After all, finding out that you're gay is one thing. But finding out that you're gay <em>and </em>in love with your best friend is a whole other type of rollercoaster ride. Seonghwa thinks that it's both a blessing and a curse that Hongjoong is arguably the most oblivious person on the face of the earth. On the bright side, Hongjoong doesn't know about his crush which means Seonghwa doesn't have to face the possibility of rejection and losing his childhood best friend. That's good. Great, even.</p><p>But on the other hand, Hongjoong not knowing about his crush means he has to suffer through all his mushy feelings, <em>alone</em>. And as a sixteen year old, Seonghwa is personally <em>not</em> a big fan of feelings. Especially those he is holding for his best friend.</p><p>The thing is, Seonghwa does not believe in being subtle. He has been so painfully obvious ever since he found out he liked Hongjoong but apparently, Hongjoong is not one to take a hint. Not <em>multiple </em>hints, not even when they're right in front of his face, actually. Seonghwa kind of wants to grab Hongjoong's shoulders and just... shake him until he realizes Seonghwa likes him. Sometimes he thinks maybe he should just kiss him instead and get it over with.</p><p>But he doesn't. Probably never will. While Seonghwa is not subtle, he is also a "fucking coward"—as said by his neighbor and only other best friend, Jung Wooyoung—who is afraid of losing his best friend. You can't really blame him.</p><p>"Seonghwa." Seonghwa feels a finger relentlessly poking at his side and lazily turns his head to face the boy next to him. Seonghwa is greeted by the sight of Hongjoong, chin propped up on the palm of his hand, pouting at him. His hair is messy from having lied down on the couch for too long and Seonghwa feels his heart skip a beat.</p><p>"What?" Hongjoong pauses the movie.</p><p>"You're not even watching. I chose this movie because it's your favorite and you're not even paying attention," Hongjoong accuses, narrowing his eyes at Seonghwa.</p><p>It's a Friday night and Friday nights are movie nights. It's been their little tradition for as long as they can remember. Seonghwa loves spending time with his best friend and he loves movies so movie night is always a big win for him. He's never said it to Hongjoong's face but it's been his favorite part of the week ever since it first started.</p><p>Lately, though, he has been finding it increasingly harder to focus on watching whatever movie they've picked out when Hongjoong is literally <em>right there. B</em>eing all cute and pretty and <em>God</em>, definitely way too close for the wellbeing of his heart. By the way his heart keeps thrumming in his chest, movie night might just be the death of him.</p><p>"Sorry. Ijust have a lot on my mind." Seonghwa gives him a small smile that probably resembles a grimace, more than anything.</p><p>"You can talk to me about it if you want to. I'm your best friend for a reason." Hongjoong frowns when Seonghwa chuckles and shakes his head as a response. He tilts his head to the side all the while looking Seonghwa straight in the eye as if that would tell him what's going through Seonghwa's mind. They don't keep secrets from each other. That's not their thing. Seonghwa not wanting to talk to Hongjoong about something is... <em>weird</em>. "Why? What <em>are</em> you thinking about?"</p><p>"It's... I don't know." Seonghwa runs a hand through his own hair, desperately wishing Hongjoong would just let it go. "It's dumb."</p><p>"Well, I can't tell you it's not dumb if you won't tell me. So tell me. What's got you thinking so hard, huh?"</p><p>"You," Seonghwa blurts out. He facepalms internally. He curses his own brain for being impulsive and his mouth for having no filter. He hopes Hongjoong can't see him panicking on the inside. He wouldn't know what to do if Hongjoong were to point it out. What can he say? Hongjoong is cute and Seonghwa is crushing. <em>Hard</em>.</p><p>Hongjoong pauses for a second and Seonghwa quite literally feels his heart drop down to his stomach.</p><p>"Did you just... call me dumb? Is that... some kind of subtle way of you telling me I'm a dumbass?"</p><p>Seonghwa wants to hit him. He wants nothing more than to slap Hongjoong and yell "hey headass, i have a crush on you" at his face. But he refrains. No one needs to see that.</p><p>"No, I'm-" Seonghwa cuts himself off and pauses for a second. "You know what? Yes. Yes, actually, I am. I might as well. You're a dumbass, Joong."</p><p>Hongjoong looks baffled. He looks exactly like what a '?????' text would look like if it were a person. "What did I even do?"</p><p>"I'm not telling you." Seonghwa grabs the remote out of Hongjoong's hand and quickly starts the movie back up before Hongjoong could question him further. "Oh, look. It started playing. Guess we'll just have to stop talking about this and start watching. Oh, no."</p><p>Seonghwa throws the remote on to the recliner. Far away enough for Hongjoong to be too lazy to get up and retrieve it. He narrows his eyes at Seonghwa. But Seonghwa is right and he knows the other boy too well—Hongjoong doesn't get up. He stretches himself across the couch and rests his feet on Seonghwa's lap instead.</p><p>"Fine," Hongjoong huffs.</p><p>Seonghwa breathes out a relieved sigh as Hongjoong turns his attention back towards the screen.</p><p>Hongjoong turns his head to look at him one last time before turning back to the screen. "We'll talk about this later."</p><p><em>Spoiler alert, they don't</em>.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. MMXV</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There are many things Seonghwa likes about Hongjoong. He could spend days on end just listing the little things he admires about the other boy. His bright smile, his adorable laugh, his soft and squishy cheeks, his fluffy hair, his lovely voice and so, <em>so </em>much more. But above all things skin deep, what Seonghwa loves most about the other boy is his personality.</p><p>Hongjoong is hard-working, persistent, passionate, and most definitely a go-getter. Although his academic record might say otherwise, Seonghwa knows it's only because the boy barely attends school. He misses so many days to the point where it's a miracle he's even still enrolled at all. Seonghwa has made it his responsibility to keep Hongjoong from dropping out—or worse, kicked out—and at this point, he's pretty sure he's the only one keeping Hongjoong's attendance in check.</p><p>While he might act like it's a chore to Hongjoong's face, it actually doesn't bother him all that much. Yes, he loves doting on his best friend but it's more than just that. He knows Hongjoong skips school in favor of an internship at a small music label in town and honestly, he kind of admires him for that.</p><p>Hongjoong spends hours and <em>hours</em> in that small, cramped studio and Seonghwa can see how much music means to him. Hongjoong landed this job at age fifteen and has only been getting busier since, so he thinks the least he could do for his best friend is to support him. And so here he is, standing in front of said music studio at nine p.m. on a Thursday, carrying a paper bag filled with the dinner his mom had made.</p><p>Seonghwa doesn't bother knocking. He's been here enough times for the people to know who he is and it's not like there are many people left around anyway. Most of the staff leave at eight p.m., save for the few producers working overtime and the janitors who lock up. And of course, interns like Hongjoong.</p><p>He greets the janitor as he passes the man by and walks straight into studio number 3—the one Hongjoong always uses. A fond smile graces his lips when he spots Hongjoong with his headphones on, hunched over his laptop, the screen displaying a series of colorful lines and shapes that Seonghwa would never bother trying to understand.</p><p>Seonghwa comes up behind him, squishing the other boy's cheeks harshly. He doesn't even need to look at him, he's done this enough times to know that Hongjoong is rolling his eyes. Hongjoong stops whatever he was doing to slap Seonghwa's hands away. He takes his headphones off and swivels around in his chair to face Seonghwa, looking like he's one minute away from passing out then and there.</p><p>"Well, hello to you too, sunshine." Hongjoong groans in response and Seonghwa just smiles, lifting his hand up to wave the bag of dinner around in front of Hongjoong's face. "How about a break? Bet you haven't had dinner yet."</p><p>"How about... ten more minutes?" Hongjoong offers.</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Then five?"</p><p>"Joong-ah, you look like shit," Seonghwa deadpans, ignoring Hongjoong's offended 'hey'. "You're taking a break. Right now."</p><p>"Can I just-"</p><p>"No," Seonghwa cuts him off firmly. He motions towards Hongjoong's shipwreck of a work desk and makes a shoo-ing motion with his free hand. "Come on. Close your laptop and get rid of all those papers, you need to eat."</p><p>Hongjoong is about to refuse but his stomach answers before he could. He sighs in defeat as his stomach grumbles loudly. "Fine."</p><p>A moment of silence passes before Hongjoong sighs again. "Sorry, I'm just... tired. Thanks, Hwa."</p><p>Seonghwa simply smiles at him. "It's fine."</p><p>Hongjoong moves all his things around from the desk to make space for Seonghwa to put his things. Seonghwa settles down on the creaky wooden stool next to Hongjoong's chair and starts unpacking their dinner as Hongjoong watches the food with sparkles in his eyes. It doesn't take long for him to grab a pair of chopsticks from the bag and dig in.</p><p>He makes a noise of appreciation as he chews and Seonghwa laughs. "I told my mom I was going to visit you and she wanted to make your favorite."</p><p>Hongjoong looks at him dead in the eye. "Tell your mom I love her."</p><p>And Seonghwa just can't help himself. He musters up the cutest expression he could possibly make without cringing and bats his eyelashes at the younger boy. "What? No 'I love you' for me?"</p><p>Hongjoong looks up and stays quiet for a second longer than what Seonghwa deems is normal and Seonghwa practically hears his mind yelling variations of <em>"what the hell was that?"</em> and <em>"why the fuck did you say that?" </em>at him.</p><p>"Okay, look," Hongjoong suddenly starts, setting his chopsticks down and turning to face Seonghwa. "I know you meant that as a joke but I love you, bro. I mean it. You're my best friend. I know I'm an ass sometimes but I... I really appreciate you. Yeah, so uh, thanks. For being my friend, I mean."</p><p>"Okay, first of all, correction. You're an ass <em>most</em> of the time and second of all, oh my <em>God</em>." Seonghwa can't help himself from breaking out into a wide grin. He might have just been bro-zoned but as a best friend, he feels his heart swell at Hongjoong's words.</p><p>"Oh, fuck off. Don't you dare laugh, I swear." A small giggle escapes Seonghwa's lips at Hongjoong’s threats and Hongjoong slaps his arm. "This is why I hate saying soft shit. I hate you, I take that all back."</p><p>"No, fuck you. You can't take it back."</p><p>"Yes, I can so fuck <em>you</em>." Hongjoong picks up a chopstick and points it at Seonghwa threateningly.</p><p>Seonghwa laughs and swats the chopstick away. "Seriously, though. I know you don't like... you know, emotions and all that so you saying that outright means a lot."</p><p>Hongjoong lets out a quiet 'yeah' and Seonghwa smiles at him again. "I love you too, Joong-ah."</p><p>Seonghwa knows Hongjoong's words don't reflect the same feelings his words do. But looking at the sight before him—Hongjoong in all his tiny glory, huddled up in an oversized hoodie, his cheeks puffy with the food he's shoving in his mouth (rather barbarically, to be honest, but Seonghwa still thinks it's cute)—Seonghwa just can't help but pretend they do.</p><p>Call it wishful thinking but one day, he really hopes he doesn't have to pretend anymore.</p><p>-</p><p>"Joong, look up for a second." Hongjoong stops mid-chew and looks up at Seonghwa. Seonghwa wants to tell the entire world about how adorable Hongjoong is with his cheeks all puffed up like that but then again, he can't even bring himself tell that to the younger boy himself so what's the point?</p><p>Hongjoong lets out a muffled 'what' but Seonghwa just shushes him. Seonghwa swipes his thumb at the mess of sauce on the corner of Hongjoong's lips to clean it up and licks the sauce off his finger. "There you go." Seonghwa smiles and pats the other boy's cheek. "All good."</p><p>Hongjoong looks at Seonghwa like he just grew a second head. "Uh, thanks… bro."</p><p>Seonghwa rolls his eyes –so hard, he thinks they might have rolled all the way to the back of his head for a second there– and mentally adds a mark to his ‘getting bro-zoned by Hongjoong’ list. Twice today within the same hour and a total of ten times this week. And it’s only a Thursday. Hongjoong is on a roll.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you for reading! leave a kudos or a comment if you'd like, i'd love to hear what you guys think&lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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